Self-awareness is the ability to pay attention to yourself and how your behaviors, thoughts, and emotions correspond to your internal standards. You can objectively analyze yourself, manage your emotions, connect your behavior with your ideals, and accurately grasp how others see you if you are extremely self-aware.
Reasons Why Self-Awareness Is Your Greatest Asset
Self-awareness helps you identify gaps in your skills which promote skill development. It will assist you in identifying circumstances where you will be most effective, intuitive decision making, stress management, and motivating yourself and others.
1. You know your strengths and weaknesses.
You know what you're good at, so you capitalize on them and work to improve them. Rather than concentrating on your flaws, you accept them and take the time to learn from them. You approach your goals and the steps you need to take to achieve them with realism.
2. You’re conscious of your emotions and how you react to them.
It's critical to be entirely aware of how you're feeling at any given time. You recognize why you're feeling a certain way, accept it, and choose how you want to respond to it. It's up to you whether you let it overwhelm you, accept it as a lesson, or simply let it go.
3. You know what motivates you.
You're well aware that looking for motivation won't get you up and running. You've long known that it's up to you to make the decision to begin and to keep yourself motivated. Sure, getting a little pep talk from the big boys is beneficial.
4. You’re aware of how you come across to others.
Have you ever met someone who seems blissfully naive about the impact of their actions and attitudes on others? To say the least, it's aggravating. You pay attention to how others react to you as a self-aware person, and you can adapt your conduct to fit any setting. You're adaptive and flexible, but it doesn't imply you're weak.
5. You know what your values are
You already know what you will and will not put up with. You establish boundaries for yourself and will not allow yourself or others to cross them. You will not accept anything less than the very finest.
6. You notice when you have unkind thoughts.
You recognize when you're being cruel to yourself or others and make an attempt to adjust your mindset. You may not always be positive (who is? ), but you certainly know how to get into a positive frame of mind.
7. You understand that your perspective frames your beliefs.
Your ideas, values, thoughts, and actions are the result of your life experiences and the things you've allowed to influence you. You tolerate and respect others who hold opposing viewpoints, and you understand that what works for you may not work for others, and vice versa.
8. You know what you need to change.
If things aren't going as smoothly as you'd like, you realize it's up to you to make a difference. You take stock of what's been working and what hasn't – and then you try something new, whether it's the direction you're going or the approach you're using to get there. You also realize when you're being absolutely unproductive and take action to rectify the situation.
9. You’re mindful of your actions.
Because you know your strengths, keep to your principles, and trust your intuition, you act with intention. Basically, you use all of the characteristics discussed in this article to lead you in anything you do.
Examples of self-awareness:
Preferred learning style
Aptitude for a specific kind of career or work
Natural academic capabilities (like athletics, mathematics, science, language, etc)
Personality traits (introvert, extrovert, judgmental, leadership, etc)
Beliefs and Value system
Tips to become a more self-aware person:
Envision yourself
Visualize the best version of yourself. "Ideal selves reflect our hopes, dreams, aspirations, and speak to our skills, abilities, achievements, and accomplishments that we wish to attain.
Ask the “what” questions
Asking the "what question" puts us into the objective and open space of considering all the factors influencing a particular outcome. For example, instead of “Why don't I speak up at meetings?” we could ask:
"What were the interpersonal dynamics in the room?"
"What was I experiencing in my body at the time?"
"What happened that caused me to go into my old story of not being good enough?”
“What can I do to overcome my fear of speaking up?"
This kind of introspection allows us to look at behaviors and beliefs for what they are.
Ask others about their perception of you
Ask other people how they perceive you in certain situations. Getting specific will help to give you the most concrete Feedback. Get brave and ask them how they would like to see you behave.
Keep a journal
Journalling is a great way to pay attention to what's going on in your private and public self. It will also help you to recognize patterns that either serve you or not. You may use these prompts:
What did I do well today?
What challenges did I face?
What was I feeling?
How did I respond? In retrospect, would I have responded differently?
What strengths did I use to keep me focused on the best version of myself?
What is my intention for tomorrow?
Becoming self-aware is the first step in overcoming personality defects.
Whenever one becomes emotionally unstable, restless, or upset one should become alert as deeper introspection, usually provides insight into some personality defect that has been triggered.